A few days ago, the UK’s number one gambling authority UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published a report with insights into virtual currency Bitcoin. You may have heard of it before, but to spare you having to read through this 12-page document, we’ll provide a summary of all the important points for you down below and explain how it affects the average player.
Bitcoin and Digital Currencies
So the biggest topic in this document is that of Bitcoin and other digital currencies and how they are used in today’s online gambling market. Their original opinion is “unchanged,” but mobile casinos within the UK are permitted to use them at their discretion, as long as the casino has a license to operate in the country and takes measures to prevent money laundering.
The fact they are now permitting official use of Bitcoin is huge! There have been many in the UK looking to press the “Bitcoin Revolution” forward and it seems their wish has come true. It proves to be the next stage in the evolution of currency and could even become the universal currency of planet earth. Kiss exchange rates goodbye!
Other Important Points
Among that, some of the other points that were covered involved:
- the lines becoming increasingly blurred between social gaming and gambling
- advances in technology that affect mobile gambling
- the expansion of the eSports market
While this may seem trivial to the average player, it’s important to realise that all these changes will affect their everyday gambling experience. With the expansion of eSports, this means we could see a hell of a lot more of it and with general advances in technology becoming ever more prevelant, you could be wearing VR goggles by the end of 2017.
Main Concerns
As well as some welcome news, the General Counsel of the UKGC, Neil McArthur, also said: “Our key concern is to ensure that consumers are protected and that children and other vulnerable people are not harmed or exploited by gambling.”
“This discussion paper brings to the fore some areas where we see real issues for regulation, player protection and the protection of children and young people.”
He then went on to explain that the introduction of Bitcoin could encourage the amount of underage players to turn to gambling. That’s true in social gaming in particular: because of in-app purchases, people could be hoodwinked into purchasing something they did not mean to buy on a game that is otherwise free.
This could lead to increased debt and problem gambling. While we understand the concern, we don’t think that this is likely to happen — at least not more than usual. Bitcoin is just an alternative currency — another option to choose from just like your deposit method at your mobile casino.
McArthur had parting words of warning: “Any operator who is offering unlicensed gambling must stop – or face the consequences.” This shows they mean business in catching any illegal betting operator in the UK.“
